A Florida woman is facing DUI and related charges after she allegedly crossed five lanes of traffic and struck another vehicle on Bethlehem Pike on Saturday night.
According to the criminal complaint, Montgomery Township Police were dispatched to the intersection of Bethlehem Pike and Richardson Road at 7:24 p.m. on May 16 for a report of a vehicle crash with injuries. The initial dispatch indicated that one vehicle was on its side with a female trapped inside, but as police were en route to the scene, dispatch informed them that the woman was able to free herself from the vehicle, the report states.
Upon arrival, police were informed that the woman who was temporarily trapped in her vehicle had fled the scene on foot through a nearby graveyard, the report states. Police then gave chase, and the woman eventually stopped running and fell to her knees, the report states.
The woman, who had bloody hands and feet, was detained at the scene and identified as 51-year-old Valerie Preston, of Seminole, FL, police said. The report states that police could smell alcohol emanating from Preston, and she was noticeably unsteady on her feet with slurred speech and bloodshot, glassy eyes.
Preston told police that she had consumed three glasses of wine over a one-hour period, the report states. Investigators also said that Preston failed both a series of field sobriety tests and a preliminary blood-alcohol test, according to the complaint.
Preston was then taken into custody, police said. A driver’s license record search would later show that Preston’s operating privileges had been suspended by the state of Florida, the report states.
Crash scene investigators determined that Preston was travelling northbound on Bethlehem Pike at a high rate of speed when her vehicle left the roadway and went onto the right-side shoulder of the road, the report state. Preston then overcorrected and lost control of her vehicle, crossing five lanes of travel before striking the southbound curb, the reports states. Her vehicle then continued to travel, knocking down a street sign and traffic signal before striking a vehicle and coming to a rest, according to the complaint.
The driver of the vehicle that was struck reportedly sustained a neck injury and was transported from the scene via ambulance to Lansdale Hospital, the report states. Police said a second person was injured after they attempted to help Preston from her vehicle, at which point Preston pushed them twice, causing them to cut their left arm on broken glass from the vehicle. That victim was treated at the scene, police said.
As a result of the incident, Preston has been charged with misdemeanor counts of DUI, accidents involving death or injury while not licensed and fleeing the scene of an accident, as well as summary counts of failing to stop and render aid, careless driving, disregarding traffic lanes, driving at unsafe speeds, harassment, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and driving without a license.
Preston was arraigned on May 17 by Magisterial District judge Harry Nesbitt III, who set bail at 10% of $10,000 cash. Preston was then remanded to the Montgomery County Correctional Facility after failing to post bail, and her next court appearance is a preliminary hearing on May 22 at 9 a.m. in front of Judge Nesbitt.
(All suspects and defendants are innocent until proven guilty. This story was compiled using court records and the affidavit of probable cause.)
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